Well, I liked the Dark Eyes from last season.....Sasha seems is slowly pacing herself this season. Hasn't heard any of her triple/triple yet. Heard a tons of singles and doubles....(just some rumore I heard).

I am a bit disappointed that she is keeping the same SP, but she has done it before. She kept Malaguena for a second year and skated great. May be she is keeping Dark Eyes to focus on the LP. Sasha has always chosen familiar music for her programs, with the exception of Carmen in the 2002 year. Now don't laugh at me. Her cuts of Carmen were very different from what other skaters had used, and I liked that program.

If Romeo & Juliet is same as her exhibition (I am actually quite tired of it), she may have chosen it because of her familiarity with it. I don't know if that's a good sign or bad.

I think you are quite right about this, Red Dog. Lori Nichol was the musical genius behind Michelle's program choices from 1995 to 2001. She has a huge library and was a master at fitting together little bits of music from dfferent sources to create what was really an original composition. Almost all of Michelle's programs from this period had more than one composer worked in. For instance Lyra Angelic has a little ditty from Satie's Gymnopedia #1. She could do this so seamlessly that you couldn't even tell where the cuts were.

Actually, if we're being pedantic here, then it was Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 3 that was used in the middle section of her Lyra Angelica LP.

ITA with you about Lori Nichol tho. Part of the reason why Michelle's programs were so beautiful to watch was not only because Lori knew precisely how to choreograph the elements and MITF to suit the flow of the music, but also how she seamlessly blended different pieces of music, often unrelated and from different mediums (ie orchestral pieces v. film scores), for one program, and most people would have thought it was from the same composer. Also, Lori using unfamiliar pieces of music made Michelle's programs stand out even more.

This might have contributed to Michelle parting ways with Lori the next year. Michelle wanted to "take charge of her own skating." Part of that seemed to be, just grabbing Sheherezade or Tosca off the rack and there's your music.

I think this is a mistake on Michelle's part. Not being an expert in music herself, I don't know why she doesn't seek the advice of people who are.

ITA again. Such a shame Michelle and Lori parted ways, I would have loved to see Lori choreograph both Michelle's programs for the Olympic season. Oh well, at least we have "Salome", "Taj Mahal", "Dream of Desdemona" and "Rachmaninoff" to remind us of the sheer brilliance and genius of Ms. Nichol.

Seems as if Sasha doesn't want to challenge herself musically. I absolutely HATE the version of "Dark Eyes" she is using---to me, it sounds like Musak. Same with Rota's "R&J". Each year I think Sasha will finally break free and go wild with her music, and I was so sure the Olympic season would be the one. Now I am certain it will never happen.

While I'm more than happy to give Nichols a lot of credit (not expecting a 15 - 18 year old Michelle to know little used composers), let's not minimize Michelle's contribution. Lori Nichols may have been the creative genius behind the little or never before used music that Michelle used in the 90s and early 2K, but Michelle was the one skating to them, not Lori. If Michelle wasn't able to interpret the music, no amount of talent on Lori's part would have made those programs memorable.

A song writer could write the most brilliant original song, but if the singer can't execute it, the song is never more than collection of notes and words on a page.

And for the sake of staying on topic, we all just had to know that Sasha was going to be skating to another war horse. I've read from a lot of non-Sasha fans that R&J is the one program she's done that they have loved. So if she can put together a complex program to music that inspires her, than more power to her.

To the ones disappointed with her music choice- one quick one. how do you know that the version she used for her EX is the same exact version that she will use for her new LP?

I can only speak for myself, but of course I have no way of knowing. I was trying to find something positive (for me) in this news, so that fact that I liked her R&J Ex was a positive thing to say!! Beyond that, I hope she can find some cuts (are there some we haven't heard 10,000 times?? Surely there must be..) and interesting choreo to somehow make the old warhorse look fresh and new.

I love to watch Sasha skate, so I hope she works it!

I think this is going to be a great season of watching how everyone's training and competitive strategies play out. The one thing that I found interesting in Sasha's last journal entry is that it sounded like she was not yet back to a full training regimine. From the sound of things, I get the impressing that MK and Shiz (and probably others too) might already be in full swing, or close to it. Of course these are all my own speculations based on LIMITED information that may or may not be true. I'm really looking forward to Campbell's!!

well, I LIKE sasha's music and i think she could skate to anything, used or not. And besides, it's not up to us. It doesn't matter what we think about the music. I'm sooo sick of hearing people complain about skater's music choices. If you want to pick somebody's music, then become a skater yourself! but stop complaining about something you have no control over.

IMO, it doesn't matter if the music is used alot, because all skaters will skate it differently.

Well....

Originally Posted by luvsasha

well, I LIKE sasha's music and i think she could skate to anything, used or not. And besides, it's not up to us. It doesn't matter what we think about the music. I'm sooo sick of hearing people complain about skater's music choices. If you want to pick somebody's music, then become a skater yourself! but stop complaining about something you have no control over.

IMO, it doesn't matter if the music is used alot, because all skaters will skate it differently.

With all due respect, this is a figure skating discussion board. So what else should we talk about besides opinions about skaters, their programs, their elements, their styles, their music, etc.?

I am disappointed but not surprised. I think Sasha could have made a big impression with the judges by skating to some really strong, dramatic music instead of the weepy romantic stuff she picks year after year. Swan Lake, Nutcracker, now Romeo & Juliet. Think of how pallid "Swan Lake" was next to Shizuka's dramatic "Turandot".

Because of competition nerves, Sasha tends to shrink into herself in the FS at major competitions instead of being bold and taking command of the ice. I've always thought that if she used stronger music, she'd make a bigger impression.

I am disappointed but not surprised. I think Sasha could have made a big impression with the judges by skating to some really strong, dramatic music instead of the weepy romantic stuff she picks year after year. Swan Lake, Nutcracker, now Romeo & Juliet. Think of how pallid "Swan Lake" was next to Shizuka's dramatic "Turandot".
.

I have to disagree. With the fragil appearance I would think music R&J will carry her more than the strong/dramatic music. It just suit her imagine on ice. She is not a powerful skater, IMO, R&J suits her exquisite/elegant style.

Sasha and Nicks are playing their cards right. I think that with this music, she can make it her own and come out fighting, concentrating on what she had to do to win--that's what they are all trying to do. I think that no matter what music choice she selects, there are going to be people saying that she should have selected something better. Last season skaters selected music and at the beginning of the season people thought that because they chose such dramatic piece that they would conquer all, but they didn't. The same is happening this season.